Yesterday the Department of Justice filed suit in federal court against Florida. It alleges only that Florida has violated Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act, by attempting to purge non-citizens from its voter rolls within the 90-day period before an election for federal office. This marks a significant shift in DOJ’s claims: It had earlier alleged violations of the Voting Rights Act, in addition to violations of the National Voter Registration Act.

The complaint asserts that Florida used “inaccurate and unreliable voter verification procedures” to purge non-citizens from the rolls. A press release quotes Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez as saying: “The Department of Justice has an overriding interest in protecting the rights of eligible citizens to register and vote free from unlawful burdens, while at the same time ensuring that ineligible persons do not register and vote in federal elections in violation of the law.”

Yet DOJ continues to ignore the reality of voter fraud in Florida, and does not acknowledge the Obama administration’s role in thwarting Florida’s efforts to address that problem over many months. Yesterday, in an interview with CNN, Florida governor Rick Scott stated that Florida has already identified almost 100 non-U.S. citizens who are registered to vote, and over 50 of them have already voted illegally in Florida elections.